Even with Ashley's help, the mission did not improve. In fact, it continued its nosedive, and Kaidan wondered when it would reach the FUBAR level, what with dead civilians and soldiers impaled on metal spires that turned them into zombies (or husks, as Ashley had called them), the beacon moved and unaccounted for, and Nihlus dead. Something nagged at the biotic that this seemed too…much for a random attack, but he didn't entertain the thought with more pressing concerns at hand.
He ducked down behind a cargo container as bullets pinged against the floor beside him, the alien electronic tones of the geth sounding out around him. Ashley cursed somewhere off to his right, and he thought he heard Shepard shout, sneaking a peek over the lip of his cover to see her barrel headfirst into a white geth, slamming her rifle back first into its lamp eye.
Kaidan had to remember to close his mouth and fire at another geth trying to get past the barricade that was Shepard, blocking access up the ramp to the two marines.
"Watch yourself, Commander!" Ashley barked as a red geth appeared, crouching down and taking aim with a gun, which had a suspiciously large barrel.
"I have it, Chief." Kaidan said, his omnitool flaring to life and his fingers dancing across the interface. In one smooth movement, he linked it into the gun's processes and executed the hacking routine. The geth startled as the gun's core promptly overheated, and Ashley unleashed a rain of bullets that soon had the synthetic keeling over with a keening whistle.
The victory was short-lived, however, as a bullet slammed into the sentinel's shields and shorted them out with a pop. Another bullet grazed Kaidan's shoulder as he quickly ducked down, not wanting to join Jenkins on the casualty list. A feminine outburst of rage made him look back, just in time to see Shepard shoulder barge the attacking geth over, another backing up apparently in fear.
"I told you, eyes on me!" She snarled, quickly shooting out the downed geth and the one that tried to get into a better position away from her.
"Clear for now, Commander!" Ash called out, Kaidan rising with her to join the other woman at the bottom of the ramp. She immediately turned to him as he approached, eyes resting on the graze on his dark armour plating.
"How are you holding up, Lieutenant?" She asked. "I saw your shields go down."
"I'm fine, Commander. Will take some time to recharge, though." He replied, watching her light eyebrows furrow slightly.
"I can help with that. Link your suit computer with mine; I'll show you a little trick I learnt in spec ops." The Commander said, her omnitool lighting up around her hand and arm, Kaidan's following suit.
"A bit forward, don't you think?" The younger woman grinned. "First comes the linkage, then the seals, then-"
"No, Chief. The seals come first, then the suit linkage." Shepard corrected, typing an algorithm on her 'tool. "Trust me, I dated a guy sometime after Basic, and that was how it rolled."
"Really?" Ashley asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Let's just say it didn't work out and I was very glad for the transfer." Shepard explained. "Accept the request please, Lieutenant."
"Aye aye." He nodded, watching the diagnostics run as Shepard's computer linked with his. From what he could tell at a glance, they shared an operating system, but hers had more processing power behind it.
"Didn't have you pegged for someone who fraternized." The Gunnery Chief commented. Shepard shrugged.
"I don't, not any more. He was the only military guy I dated, and civvy relationships never lasted long." She said, concentrating on the numbers scrolling by on her arm.
"I get that." Ash nodded, as did Kaidan. They'd all been there.
A soft droning whine sounded out, and to Kaidan's surprise, his shield emitters fired back to life, his shield popping back around him in a rush that had his mutant nerves tingling. He must have pulled a face, as Shepard chuckled, her light green eyes flashing with mirth.
"N7 soldiers have spare shield capacitor. We can draw on it in emergencies to restore our shields without delay. An engineer friend in training showed me how to use it to give others a boost instead."
"Thank you, Commander." The sentinel said. "But won't you need it later?"
A shadow passed over her features so briefly he thought it was the trick of the light.
"I'm not going to lose any more people here." She replied. "I will be fine." She looked up at a sound behind her. "The train's coming back in. This is our ride to the beacon; we better let the geth know about the replacement bus service." The Commander's grin faded at the two marine's blank faces. "It's…It's a British joke. Whatever. Forget I said anything."
"Aye aye ma'am!" Ashley replied, sniggering. Kaidan shook his head, disconnecting his suit computer from Shepard's.
They got into position behind some cargo crates as the train came in, a vanguard of geth platforms on it, ready for battle.
"I don't like the look of the one at the back, Skipper." Said Ashley, gesturing to the large, imposing black and gold geth at the back.
"No, he looks like he means business." Shepard replied. "But I have an idea. Cover me."
With that, Shepard swapped weapons, taking out her sniper rifle. At her gesture, Kaidan Threw the geth guarding the entrance onto the transport onto the electrified tracks below, allowing them to sneak on, Shepard settling onto the end, propping the long barrel of her weapon on top of the raised sections of the train.
"Alright, marines. Let an old pro show you how it's done." The soldier said, resting herself in a comfortable position.
After a moment to aim, the sniper rifle bucked against her shoulder, the loud shot sounding out as a silver geth's eye promptly shattered and it crumpled lifelessly to the ground. The rest immediately began to advance, including the large one at the back, albeit at a slower pace.
"Commander…" Kaidan warned, feeling his biotics prickle instinctively and Ashley tense at his side.
"Trust me." Shepard replied, and took another shot, another geth softly shrieking as it tumbled to the ground. The one next to it hesitated, and the soldier's follow up shot made its head jerk comically, as if it had been slapped. The large geth sped up from a slow trudge to a jog as the hit geth fell.
"Trust me." She repeated, as if sensing his unease. She trained her sights on the advancing juggernaut and went still. Twenty metres, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, and Shepard seemed to be frozen in time, focused entirely on the black and gold synthetic. Do something! Kaidan's body cried out, his flight or fight instincts screaming at him. But he trusted Shepard. He trusted her and waited.
Fifteen metres.
BOUM!
The rifle's bellow shattered the silence and the geth jerked as the bullet slammed into its upper body, causing it to stumble. Shepard fired again and its head snapped back in angle that made Kaidan's blood chill, and the large synthetic came crashing down, sliding into a heap before them.
"Whew." Shepard sighed, switching back to her assault rifle and rubbing her forehead. "I thought that wasn't going to work for a second and I'd have to get you two to clean up my mistake."
"Yeah, could've given us some warning you were going to do that." Ashley said.
"Hmm. Could have been messy." Kaidan nodded. Shepard shrugged.
"You're right, sorry. But in my defence, you're both very capable marines. You could have easily taken that guy down if I screwed up." She said, striding to the control console.
"We'd have had a better chance if it wasn't right on top of us, you know!" The younger woman retorted, grinning.
"I know, I know. Anyway, we better get to the beacon before this 'Saren' guy gets his hands on it." Shepard spoke as the train pulled out of the cargo dock, towards the spaceport.